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<blockquote data-quote="redrick" data-source="post: 6607799" data-attributes="member: 6777696">Not sure that I follow. The point of OA's isn't solely to discourage fleeing combat. It is also to create costs for moving through various zones of combat. If anything, the latter is far more important than the former. I want my players (and my monsters) to see retreat as an option, but I also don't want combatants strolling around combat effortlessly. So people taking option c) from your list should absolutely be hit with an OA if it means moving past or away from a threatening melee combatant. (There is no penalty in 5e for taking a non-attack action while within an enemies melee range. There is a penalty for making a ranged attack within 5 feet of an opponent, but it does not draw an attack of opportunity.)So, looking at your list above, I'd re-order it to:Free attacks create a cost for:1) Moving past front lines to vulnerable targets in the back-field2) Withdrawing from the front lines to the backfield3) Ignoring currently engaged opponents to move to another part of the battlefield (say to rush to a fallen comrade and administer a healing potion or stabilize that character)4) Total retreatFree attacks allow melee combatants to control a battlefield by doing more than just standing in a doorway. Basically, don't turn your back on the dude with the sword.Disengage allows combatants to counter some of this control, but at the cost of taking other actions. I want my cleric to be able to withdraw from the front lines, but he should give something up for that. This is what disengage is designed to do, and it works.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="redrick, post: 6607799, member: 6777696"] Not sure that I follow. The point of OA's isn't solely to discourage fleeing combat. It is also to create costs for moving through various zones of combat. If anything, the latter is far more important than the former. I [I]want[/I] my players (and my monsters) to see retreat as an option, but I also don't want combatants strolling around combat effortlessly. So people taking option c) from your list should absolutely be hit with an OA [I]if it means moving past or away from a threatening melee combatant.[/I] (There is no penalty in 5e for taking a non-attack action while within an enemies melee range. There is a penalty for making a ranged attack within 5 feet of an opponent, but it does not draw an attack of opportunity.) So, looking at your list above, I'd re-order it to: Free attacks create a cost for: 1) Moving past front lines to vulnerable targets in the back-field 2) Withdrawing from the front lines to the backfield 3) Ignoring currently engaged opponents to move to another part of the battlefield (say to rush to a fallen comrade and administer a healing potion or stabilize that character) 4) Total retreat Free attacks allow melee combatants to control a battlefield by doing more than just standing in a doorway. Basically, don't turn your back on the dude with the sword. Disengage allows combatants to counter some of this control, but at the cost of taking other actions. I want my cleric to be able to withdraw from the front lines, but he should give something up for that. This is what disengage is designed to do, and it works. [/QUOTE]

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